The Shape of Things to Come
by Akanesi
Summary: This story has been abadoned. Sorry to all readers. If you want to continue it please feel free. Just PM me so I can follow it and put my name on any existing chapters and you have free reign.
1. Snow

It was brilliant, travelling with the Doctor; you never knew what's going to happen next

It was brilliant, travelling with the Doctor; you never knew what's going to happen next. Which alien world you were going to set foot on. What problems and adventures would come along and how you would deal with them. You never really knew. The one thing that you did know though was that with the Doctor, everything that could go wrong would.

The Doctor had promised Rose a holiday, one without monsters and without adventures; she was really looking forward to it. Sure, this life was fantastic but as she had soon learned there was only so far you could go on adrenaline before you had a nervous breakdown. So he'd said that he'd take her to the Caliphorcus system. Doesn't sound very holidayish, does it. But the Doctor assured her that it was a system of paradise planets, one planet was made up of only beaches and water, no cities, no nothing, and that was the one they were going to. It sounded wonderful, she couldn't wait.

"Almost there," The Doctor's cry jolted her out of her thoughts and she hurried quickly to the control room. He was dancing around the console like a madman, pushing buttons, pulling levers and generally acting like a four year old.

"Nearly, nearly." The Tardis landed with a shuddering jolt that knocked them both off their feet.

"Come on then," The Doctor was already prancing around the door with his great coat over one arm and holding the other out to her. She accepted and after pulling herself up and straitening her clothes stepped out of the Tardis ahead of the Doctor.

"Oh!" she started, throwing her arms around herself. It was freezing.

"Ah, well that can happen."

"What can happen?"

"I think I might have over-shot a little bit," was the Doctor's lame excuse.

"A little bit!"

"Well, only 3,000 miles. Well, only 10 solar systems. Come on, let's explore."

And before she knew what was happening she had been yanked off in the direction of what looked like a great big heap of snow.

"Who are they?"

_Male. Is. Unknown. Species._

_Female. Is. Human._

"Where did they come from?"

A picture appeared on the screen, it was of the Tardis.

"What is it?"

_Sensors. Indicate. Ship._

"Upload ships memory banks."

_Ship. Blocking. All. Attempts. To. Access._

"What is the origin of the blocking technology?"

_Unknown._

A chair was thumped in frustration.

"So, what'd you think?" The Doctor was standing next to the big, white lump, studying it; his glasses perched on his nose.

"It looks like a lump of snow," she answered slowly. If she said anything fast she was afraid that she'd have hit the Doctor. They'd been standing in the freezing cold air for about half an hour just studying this blob.

The Doctor turned and looked at her, his face having a look that she recognised as 'Humans!'

"No, it's and escape pod."

"An escape pod," she asked getting closer and prodding it curiously. "Is it empty?"

"Well of course it's empty. Or I would already be trying to get it open," said the Doctor, sighing.

"OK, so what species built this?"

"I would have to say …… Reeds."

"As in … pond reeds."

"No, as in balls of squeegee stuff that takes on others species' forms."

"He knows of our species. Identify him."

_Unknown. Species._

_No. Record. Of. Birth._

"The female is human, identify her."

_Confirmed. Human. Female._

_Name. Is. Rose. Tyler._


	2. Reeds

"Would there have been any survivors, Doctor

"Would there have been any survivors, Doctor?"

"I don't know. It hit pretty hard, look at these," he indicated deep gouges and dents on the underside of the escape pod. "But," scrambling round to the other side he bent down and examined them. "Not all of them were made by the crash; some of them are too long and deep. I'd say they were made by a wild animal."

"With claws and teeth the size of cars," Rose's sarcasm as she examined the cuts annoyed the Doctor.

"Oh come on Rose, you've been travelling with me for ages and now you're being sceptical about what kinds of weaponry they could have. There could be guns with the single function of separating every cell from your body, or bombing ants or anything… Rose, are you listening to me?"

The truth was… no. She was too busy looking around at the landscape. It was mostly desert with a few trees and tufts of grass but nothing you could call homey.

_Ship. Still. Resisting. All. Attempts. To. Access._

"Try back up circuitry."

_Backup. Circuitry. Is. Unresponsive._

"What do you mean unresponsive."

_There. Is. No. Signal. Broadcasting. For. The. Backup. System._

_There. Is. Nothing… _

"What is status of the transmitter?"

A moment of silence and the computer responded in a somewhat annoyed voice.

_There. Is. Nothing. Wrong. With. The. Transmitter._

_All. Checks. Made. Are. Positive._

_All. Security. Teams. In. That. Area. Neutralised._

_Backup. Circuitry. Is. Still. Unresponsive._

"Run full checks and send out a surveillance team. Tell them too hold contact."

_Confirmed._

"Doctor, using an educated guess, which in your case would be known as 100 correct," the Doctor grinned at that "do you think that this planet was inhabited by any form of large mammal."

"No, there's very little water if any and there aren't enough trees to support any species."

"Well then, if the Reeds are balls of squeegee stuff that take on other things' forms," the Doctor nodded vigorously, "and if there wasn't any life form on the planet beforehand," Rose pointed to the gouges "you're not going to tell me that lumps of squeegee stuff did that."


	3. Eighteen to the Dozen

Surveillance

_Surveillance. Teams. Holding. Position._

_Awaiting. Orders._

"Send them in, secure the area."

The Doctor seemed, for once, to be without an answer, which was very unusual for him. He talked eighteen to the dozen most days, so this sudden silence was not only funny for Rose but a bit worrying.

"It's alright not to know something, you know," as soon as the words were out of her mouth she knew they were a mistake. The Doctor gave a look of astonishment and through his arms up in despair.

"Haven't I taught you anything, Rose Tyler? Most of the fun that comes out of these adventures is the not knowing what the hells goings on."

"OK. But you still haven't answered my question."

"I know," the Doctor ran a hand through his hair making it stand on end and Rose had this sudden urge to flatten it.

"What we gonna do then?"

"Well, we could always go for a walk, see if we can find the Reeds."

"Or whatever did that," Rose muttered under her breath, indicating the gouges, as she set off after the Doctor at what was definitely not a walk, more like a full blown sprint.

_No. Errors. In. Backup. Circuitry._

"Then what's wrong with it?"

_No…_

"I imagine if the computer knew that it would have told you already."

Another voice had joined the others. Where as the computer's voice had been without emotion and the one who had given he computer its orders was crackly, oily and old, no more than a whisper, this voice was clear, sharp and confident. The voice of a man who knew that he was in charge and would remain in charge.

"I'm sorry, sir," the whisper consoled. "There are two humanoids on the surface. One is a human called Rose Tyler and the other is an unknown male. With no information on his species, name or birth."

"Show him to me." A picture of the Doctor appeared on the screen. There was a moment of silence and then the sharp voice spoke again. "How did they arrive?" The computer beat the other to it and a picture of the Tardis appeared on screen. Another moment of silence, longer than the last one.

"Is something wrong, sir? Do you know that man and his ship?"

"I did, but I don't any more."

"Then if I may ask, sir, who is he?"

"He… is the Doctor!"


	4. Shimmers in the Haze

Rose had been running for about ten minutes when the Doctor seized her arm and dragged her down behind a rock

Rose had been running for about ten minutes when the Doctor seized her arm and dragged her down behind a rock.

"What is it?"

"Look," the Doctor pointed up ahead. Rose looked but all she could see was a bit of grass and more desert. There was a slight heat shimmer though which Rose thought was odd as it was still freezing cold.

"The heat shimmers?"

"The heat shimmers," grinned the Doctor.

"So, why aren't we going to have a look at them?"

"Rose, since when have I rushed into something that's unknown just to satisfy my curiosity?"

"All the time really."

"Well, it doesn't mean I'm going to do it this time."

"Uh hu?"

"What are your orders, sir?"

"Patch this into the control system and scan the ship again. Then send any patrol teams near them to engage and bring them in."

"There is a surveillance team near their location. Shall I send them?" the oily voice asked.

"No. The team must be fully equipped. Don't take any chances."

"Very good, sir."

The Doctor fiddled with his sonic screwdriver, adjusting the settings so the hum coming from the device changed pitch slightly. He pointed it at the heat shimmers and took some readings.

"Just as I thought," he bounded out happily from behind the rock and hurried over to the heat shimmers.

"Static bydused telocort reaction."

"What?"

The Doctor seemed to consider this for a moment and then answered, "In very simple explanatory human terms," Rose let that slide, so the Doctor continued, "it's a teleportation device that leaves a heat residue in the air that comes across as static electricity when you touch it."

"And the 'bydused'?"

"Ooh, just a fancy word really."

"What is the state of the scan?"

"We are still having trouble with the back up circuitry."

"Well, fix it," the confident voice was angry now and it obviously sent terror into the other in the room as the whisper became urgent:

"Computer, recheck the back up circuitry."

_Back. Up. Circuitry. Unresponsive._

"Have surveillance teams check in."

There was a moment's pause and then a fuzzy image of a man in a balaclava appeared on the screen.

"Report."

"There's nothing wrong with the transmitter, generator or circuits," the man on the screen shouted. He had to shout because the quality of sound was so poor.

"None of us can explain it. Everything's functioning fine. It should be coming through."

"Should is not good enough, captain," the angry voice had now turned smooth and direct. "You will find the problem and fix it." There was a short pause. "Won't you?"

"I don't know how we can, sir?" The captain was terrified, practically shaking in his boots but if he said it could be done and then didn't come through, the punishment would be a lot worse than the one he would get now.

"Very well." The man in the camera suddenly stepped back and shuddered, in the background was his team doing the same. As one they stumbled and fell to the ground, convulsing, and they were still.

"If you think that punishment is second, I would love to have seen the first," laughed the voice.


	5. Ultra Frequency

"So there was a teleport device used here

"So there was a teleport device used here?" Rose asked.

"Yep."

They had been standing next to the heat shimmers for about five minutes and Rose was already feeling warmer but a bit bored.

"Where does the teleport go?"

"Underground."

"How can you be sure? Oh, right," Rose said as the Doctor waved the sonic screwdriver at her.

The Doctor bent down and started to examine the heat shimmers with his screwdriver.

_Back. Up. Circuitry. Working. Fully._

"Oh, what a surprise. You kill someone and the job suddenly gets done," the cool voice laughed. "What was the problem in the first place?"

_Loose. Connections._

"Loose connections, huh. Kill the electrician."

_Confirmed._

"What are you doing?" Rose asked ten minutes later when she was still standing around and the Doctor hadn't even moved.

The Doctor sighed and stood up. "I'm trying to find the ultra-frequency button."

"Button?"

"What's wrong with 'button'?"

"Nothing. What's the button do?"

"Well, you go into the right part of the heat shimmers and that's the teleport. You can tell which bit of the heat shimmers is the right bit by measuring the ultra-frequency."

"Which you can do with your sonic screwdriver."

"Yes. But, someone's turned it off. Either no ones been using it for a while or someone," he glanced downwards, "doesn't want me down there."


	6. Occupied

"Does the back-up frequency let you into the ship

"Does the back-up frequency let you into the ship?"

_No._

"Are the patrols within range?"

_Confirmed._

The man who had been giving the orders turned to the other.

"When you have captured them bring them to me, but keep them blindfolded."

"Very good, sir."

"I can't turn it on from up here," the Doctor muttered despondently.

"I'm sorry, I just thought I heard the words "I can't" come out of your mouth, but I must have misheard," said Rose grinning as the Doctor glared at her. The Doctor suddenly stiffened.

"What is it?" Rose whispered. She suddenly felt very exposed out in the open.

"I'm not sure. Come on." The Doctor reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling hr over to the rock that they had been crouching behind. They knelt down behind it and gazed at the heat shimmers. After nothing happening for several minutes, Rose turned to the Doctor to say that if he ever scared her like that again he would be looking at an early grave.

But the Doctor was still frozen. He slowly turned his head to look at her and then, equally as slowly turned his whole body to look the other way. They both were then staring right into the mask of a soldier. And his friends.

As they were dragged out from behind the rock and manhandled to the ground Rose glared at the Doctor and said,

"Trust you to pick the one rock that was occupied."


End file.
